Chocolate Mint
by Ashkah
Summary: InuKai. Inui receives a gift for valentines with no name attached.


Title: Chocolate Mint  
Author: Ashkah  
Rating: T  
Pairing: InuKai  
Disclaimer: I do not own TeniPuri. That wonderful privilage belongs to Konomi-sensei!  
A/N: Written for the 2007 Valentine's Day Contest at the TeniPuri community on Livejournal. The first thing I have written in awhile.

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As Inui sat in his room, surrounded from all sides by many boxes of gift chocolate received that day as a Valentine, he heaved a heavy sigh and began sorting through the mass.

He should be happy this year. He'd received more chocolates than he ever had received and would have ever imagined receiving. To his surprise, he had been approached by countless girls seeking his approval and perhaps the slight hint that affection might be returned.

He had received gifts from short girls, tall girls, skinny girls, and not so skinny girls. Girls with short hair, long hair, dyed and permed. Girls with long socks, short socks, baggy socks and tights. Girls with blue eyes, brown eyes, and green. Girls who giggled, girls who snorted, girls who just smiled. Shy girls, flamboyant girls, girls who were just themselves. Girls from the math club, girls from the female tennis club, even girls not affiliated with a club. Girls with glasses, girls who wore too much make-up, and girls who didn't wear enough. Even the occasional pretentious boy had saw fit to approach him that day, but no matter what or who, or how many, Inui just wasn't happy.

He wasn't happy because the one person he had hoped to get something from didn't give him any at all. Oh, he knew the odds were less that 5 that he would have actually gotten something, but this person had seen it fit to destroy his calculations before, and perhaps, just a little, he had hoped that it would be the case again today.

However, he wasn't known in the club for his data being incorrect, so he shouldn't have been so down from his calculations being as they should. It was illogical to feel sad when things went according to expectation.

Two more for the white chocolate pile, one more for the dark.

After the candy had been completely separated into three piles according to types, he opened a couple of tuppleware containers and began to place them inside. He preferred dark chocolate over the others, so he had decided to save those until last. There were not many of that type anyway. Only about 13 of his total bounty.

In his notebook, sat to the side, were the names of all those who gave and the status of the white day gift he would be returning to them. All names had the word obligated written next to them, as he didn't feel a thing for any of them. Most of which he hadn't even known existed before today.

It was getting late, and Inui still had his homework to do, so he reluctantly pulled himself from the floor where he had been sitting for the past one hour and forty-three minutes, and went to retrieve his booksack from the bed.

As he reached in and pulled out his Advanced Physics book, a small package fell out and landed on the floor near his foot. It was neatly wrapped in plain green paper and tied together with a blue bow. As he reached down to pick the little parcel off the ground, he pondered how it got where it did. He didn't remember placing any of his gifts in his bag; he had brought along a plastic one for that such purpose at Fuji's suggestion when it became apparent last year that Inui's admirers were starting to grow at an exponential rate. He also couldn't recall a lengthy enough period of time when his would be accessible to others without being within sight.

The tag had the prompter "To: Inui-senpai" on it in a handwriting he didn't quite recognize, and the giver had conveniently left off the "From:" part of the tag. Curious as to what actually lay inside, he lifted the lid and peered within. Nestled nicely in green confectionary paper were ten pieces of gourmet dark-chocolate mints; coincidentally the exact type of candy he preferred over 12 more than any other.

Whoever had gifted him with this, knew him well. Either that or talked with the tennis tensai, since such bits of information said tensai had a tendency to retain without others knowing.

However, without a statement denoting who the package was from, he had no way of knowing who to credit the gift to. Resisting the urge to reach in and taste one of the candy mints, Inui replaced the lid and placed the box back into his bag. He most likely would have greater success deducing the gifter the next day at school.

Inside the locker room the next afternoon, Inui placed the box onto the bench next to his things and began to change for practice. Frustratingly, he was no closer to finding out who his secret admirer was than he had been the night before. He'd asked countless people if they remembered anyone handing out similar boxes the day before, but he was only met with shaking heads and apologies.

The door to the room opened behind him, and he turned to see Momoshiro enter with his usual grin in place. He, like most other members of the Seigaku tennis regulars team, had made out quite well the day before, and Inui was almost certain that the power hitter had been on a semi-permanent sugar high off the results since early morning.

Going back to his changing, the data collector was genuinely surprised when he was met with a heavy arm around his shoulder and the loud voice of his kouhai way too close to his ear. "No way!!" The second year reached down and picked up the green box from the bench where Inui had placed it. "You and Mamushi must have the same admirer, Inui-senpai!"

Confused, Inui looked at Momo, the glare of the sun from the window hopefully hiding the look that entered his eyes at the mention of his doubles partner. Pretending it was only in interest of gathering data, he replied, "And why would you say that?"

Momoshiro must not have noticed, or at least acted like he didn't out of respect. Placing the box back down, he went back to his own belongings, digging in his tennis bag for his uniform, "Because I saw him carrying around a package just like it yesterday."

Adjusting his glasses to this little bit of info, he glanced down at the mints, and then back at his kouhai. Momo, wasn't the most reliable person for remembering things, Inui knew, but this was something that couldn't be ignored. Especially if it meant he was implying what the third year thought Momoshiro was implying, which knowing him, Inui expected he didn't realize he _was_ implying. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Are you sure about that?"

The other boy paused halfway through the removal of his shirt and thought about it. "Yeah," he replied, finishing his task. "I remember thinking how weird it was seeing him with anything at all." After replacing the garment with that of his practice uniform, Momo continued without having needing the prompting.

"Mamushi usually doesn't accept any chocolates from girls. I asked him why once. He said it was too bothersome to think about dating. So, instead of getting anyone's hopes up, he just doesn't take them at all." He shrugged. "I just thought he was being stupid, but then, everything about Mamushi is stupid."

Finished with changing, he grabbed his racket and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "But, maaa… That girl must have a broad range of preferences. You two are nothing alike!" And with that, the younger teen left the locker room, holding the door for Taka-san and Echizen, who were just making their way in.

Inui, knowing his data, really didn't want to let his hopes get up, but if what Momoshiro remembered was in fact true, then it made sense. It would explain how the gift made its way into his bag without his knowledge, and how the sender knew what he liked the most. Kaidou had been present at enough of Eiji's impromptu get-togethers to notice at least once or twice Inui's tendency to gravitate toward the small candies.

Making up his mind, Inui put the box of chocolates back into his bag and finished changing himself. He hadn't joined his kouhai in an after practice run in a while. Perhaps today would be a good day to do so.

Kaidou hadn't said anything when Inui had asked him if he could join him that afternoon. He just hissed his normal, oddly charming hiss, and nodded his assent. If Kaidou had actually delivered the gift, then he wasn't acting any different because of it. Inui imagined it must have taken the bandana-clad boy most of the day to muster up the courage to leave it.

The two tennis players went their usual route, though the park and on down alongside the river until they reached the bridge. Inui was happy they stopped here. He had made many fond memories with his kouhai here, and hoped that today would be another one.

Resting in the shade under the bridge, Inui set his bag down and reached in to collect the small object in question. Kaidou had distracted himself with tightening the strings in his tennis shoes. He pulled open the lid and unceremoniously shoved the box into the second year's line of sight. "Would you like one? One or two shouldn't hurt your training menu, I don't think."

He watched as his partner's muscles stiffened, and then slowly loosened as Kaidou slowly willed them to relax. The expression that move had drawn couldn't be hidden either, and Inui was now 100 certain that Kaidou was indeed the giver of the chocolates. The glasses wearing senior leaned in so he could whisper in his junior's ear. "Thank you, Kaoru." He placed a chaste kiss on the younger boy's ear.

The mamushi hissed in embarrassment and hid his face between his raised kness, but he couldn't keep his senpai from seeing his cheeks blush in an admirable shade of pink before they disappeared. "How… how did you know?"

Inui set the mints in his lap and hmmmed. "Well, I didn't. Not at first, anyway. The handwriting on the tag, it's not yours."

Kaidou nodded without moving his head from its current position. "Ffshhuuuu…. I… I couldn't get… fffsshhhuuuuu! My hands were shaky, so I paid Hazue to write it for me."

Inui nodded, though Kaidou couldn't see it. That was the final missing piece, and now, his data had been made right again. Grinning to himself, he took a piece and popped it into his mouth. They were delicious.

After a couple of minutes, the data man laughed to himself. The sound roused Kaidou from his task of hiding his blush, and he lifted his head to see what was so funny. "What is it, senpai?"

Inui just grinned again eating another piece of chocolate. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking that I should get on deciding what to give you in return on White Day."

The shade of red his kouhai's cheeks turned right then almost became Inui's new favorite color.

Owari


End file.
